The Impact of Stress on Development and Cognition: Effects across the lifespan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.332Keywords:
Stress, Development, Cognition, Chronic stress, Acute stress, MemoryAbstract
Stress is a response to adverse circumstances that creates tension and emotional strain within the individual. There are two types of stress: chronic (a consistent apprehension toward a situation) and acute (a discrete response toward an adverse situation). Stress triggers the activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, culminating in the production of glucocorticoids by the adrenals. They can act as transcription factors and so regulate gene expression. Thus, glucocorticoids can have long-lasting effects on the functioning of the brain regions that regulate their release.
In young children and early adolescents, stress reduces the volume of the hippocampus, and hence it negatively modulates the development of brain structures compared to healthy controls. Additionally, stress has been shown to adversely affect cognitive performance in test achievements and applies to tasks beyond educational administered tests.
In adults, stress impairs memory due to increased hippocampus function. In addition, stress is known for enhancing fearful memory, thus creating an abnormal fearful state. Furthermore, it causes changes in the dendrites and takes ten days to regulate them. It also impairs spatial learning and can be reversed 21 days later. The effects of chronic stress in adulthood are reversible, whereas, for infants, it is permanent.
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